Cascaded Scheduling Requests for Resource-Efficient 5G and 6G

ABSTRACT

In a 5G or 6G wireless network, a user device that wishes to transmit an uplink message must first transmit a scheduling request to the base station, generally in an allocated time-frequency region sized according to the number of user devices. In general, most of the user devices are not requesting access most of the time, and therefore most of the allocated region is blank. To reduce the amount of wasted resources, the base station can divide the user devices into sections, and allow the user devices to indicate which sections include at least one ready user device. Then, the base station can allocate a much smaller region containing only those indicated sections, and the ready user devices can send their requests in that smaller region. The base station can then determine which user devices request access, provide them with grants, and receive their messages. By avoiding allocating scheduling-request resources to sections that have no waiting messages, the base station may save time and avoid wasting limited resources, according to some embodiments.

PRIORITY CLAIMS AND RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/170,631, entitled “Rapid Uplink Access byModulation of 5G Scheduling Requests”, filed Apr. 5, 2021, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/170,633, entitled “RapidUplink Access by Parallel Signaling on a 5G Random-Access Channel”,filed Apr. 5, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.63/176,996, entitled “Rapid Uplink Access by Modulation of 5G SchedulingRequests”, filed Apr. 20, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 63/210,216, entitled “Low-Complexity Access and Machine-TypeCommunication in 5G”, filed Jun. 14, 2021, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/214,489, entitled “Low-Complexity Access andMachine-Type Communication in 5G”, filed Jun. 24, 2021, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/220,669, entitled“Low-Complexity Access and Machine-Type Communication in 5G”, filed Jul.12, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/317,177,entitled “Cascaded Polling for Resource-Efficient Low-Complexity 5G/6GDRX”, filed Mar. 7, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 63/321,879, entitled “Cascaded Scheduling Requests forResource-Efficient 5G and 6G”, filed Mar. 21, 2022, all of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure pertains to uplink scheduling requests, and moreparticularly to means for reducing resource usage by requesting users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In 5G and 6G, base stations provide resources for user devices torequest permission to transmit an uplink message. In a large network,the space necessary to provide each user device with a schedulingrequest opportunity can be wasteful. What is needed is a way for theuser devices to inform the base station that they wish to transmit,while consuming fewer resources.

This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summaryand Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended tobe an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor beviewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations thatsolve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, there is a method for a base station to communicatein a wireless network comprising a plurality of user devices in signalcommunication with the base station, the method comprising: allocatingthe plurality of user devices among integer Ns sections; receiving oneor more signals in a first region of a resource grid; determining, fromeach signal, which one of the sections includes a user device seeking anuplink grant; and receiving further signals in a second region of aresource grid, and determining, from the further signals, which userdevices seek uplink grants.

In another aspect, there is a particular user device, of a wirelessnetwork comprising a plurality of user devices, the particular userdevice configured to: receive a particular section number; transmit afirst signal in a section poll, the section poll comprising a firstplurality of resource elements; receive a section message indicating oneor more section numbers comprising at least the particular sectionnumber; transmit, responsive to receiving the section message, a secondsignal in a user poll, the user poll comprising a second plurality ofresource elements; and receive an uplink grant.

In another aspect, there is non-transitory computer-readable media in amemory of a base station of a wireless network comprising user devices,the media containing instructions that, when executed by a computingenvironment, cause a method to be performed, the method comprising:assigning, to each user device, a section number and a position number,respectively; allocating a section poll, comprising a symbol-time and aplurality of subcarriers, for one or more user devices to transmit afirst signal, the first signal indicating which sections include atleast one user device ready to transmit a data message; allocating auser poll, comprising one or more symbol-times and one or moresubcarriers, for user devices to transmit a second signal, the secondsignal indicating which user devices are ready to transmit a datamessage, respectively; receiving the second signals and determiningtherefrom which particular user devices are ready to transmit datamessages; and transmitting an uplink grant to each of the particularuser devices.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form. The concepts are further described in the DetailedDescription section. Elements or steps other than those described inthis Summary are possible, and no element or step is necessarilyrequired. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended foruse as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solveany or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

These and other embodiments are described in further detail withreference to the figures and accompanying detailed description asprovided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to request an uplink grant in a cascaded manner, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to request an uplink grant in a cascaded manner, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid populated with control and scheduling request messages, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to deliver scheduling request messages, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including scheduling requests and BSR messages, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3B is a schematic showing another exemplary embodiment of aresource grid including scheduling requests and BSR messages, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to transmit scheduling requests including BSR messages,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including frequency-spanning scheduling request messages, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to obtain an uplink grant, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including scheduling requests in a frequency-spanning configurationwith BSR messages, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to file scheduling requests with BSR messages, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 6A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including high and low priority scheduling requests, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to provide scheduling requests of low and high priority,according to some embodiments.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods disclosed herein (the “systems” and “methods”, alsooccasionally termed “embodiments” or “versions” or “arrangements”,generally according to present principles) can provide opportunities foruser devices to submit scheduling requests in a cascaded manner, therebysaving time and resources, according to some embodiments. Theresource-efficient uplink requests may be performed according to 5Gand/or 6G technology. Protocols and standards may be added to 5G and/or6G to provide the services disclosed herein. One motivation behind thepresent disclosure may be to provide protocols for user devices totransmit their uplink messages with less resource usage than priorprocedures.

According to some embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods, thebase station may assign the user devices into “sections”, each sectionhaving a plurality of user devices therein. For example, there may be Nssections, each section including up to Nz users per section. The basestation may inform each user device of its section number and a“position” or address of the user device within that section. Thus eachuser device may be identified according to its section number and itsposition. User devices that are ready to upload a data message and areseeking an uplink grant to do so (the “ready users”) may requestpermission in a cascaded manner. For example, the ready users may firstindicate which of the sections includes at least one ready user, andthen may identify which of the user devices in those sections aresubmitting grant requests. Each section that includes at least one readyuser may be termed a “ready section” herein. If only a small number ofusers have a data message ready to transmit and are seeking an uplinkgrant at a given time, which is usual, then the resource usage may bedramatically reduced by the cascading, since many of the sections arelikely to be devoid of ready users. For example, there may be only Nrsections that have a ready user therein, with Nr usually much less thanthe number of sections Ns. The ready users can request upload grantsduring an “SR session”. (Here and elsewhere, “SR” stands for “schedulingrequest”). The base station may initiate an SR session with an“SR-start” indicator. The SR-start indicator may be a pre-arrangedschedule, or a periodicity such as once per frame, or other formulawhich the user devices may be informed of (via system informationmessages or an RRC for example). Alternatively, the indicator may be aspecific command by the base station during a scheduled downlinkinterval. Then, or upon the next scheduled uplink interval, or otherallocated time after the SR-start indicator, the ready users maytransmit a short signal in a “section poll”. The section poll is anallocated region of the resource grid, including a particularsymbol-time for user devices to signal that they seek an uplink grant.One subcarrier of the section poll is associated with each section. Thusthe subcarriers of the section poll represent the sections of thenetwork, and a signal in a subcarrier of the section poll indicates thatat least one of the user devices in that section requests an uplinkgrant. A ready user in a particular section may thereby indicate thatthe particular section includes at least one ready user by transmittingthe short signal in a particular subcarrier which is assigned to theparticular section. The base station can then receive the section polland determine, from the subcarriers that carry signals, which sectionsinclude at least one ready user. Collisions between signals in thesection poll may be inconsequential, in some embodiments, if the basestation has been configured to treat any received signal in a sectionpoll subcarrier, however distorted, as proof that the correspondingsection has at least one ready user.

After determining, from the section poll, which sections include atleast one ready user, the base station can then broadcast a “sectionmessage” in the next scheduled downlink interval. The section messageindicates which sections have at least one ready user in the sectionpoll. (Such sections, that have a ready user, may be termed “readysections” herein.) The broadcast section message thereby informs theuser devices how many ready sections there are, and which sections. Inmost cases, the ready users do not know this, because they generallycannot receive the section poll at the same time as they transmit theirsection poll signals; hence the need for the section message.

The base station may allocate a certain region of the resource grid as a“user poll” for the ready users to further identify themselves. Thesection message may determine the size and shape of the user poll,during which the ready users can transmit a second short schedulingrequest signal at a particular time and frequency, thereby indicatingtheir desire to upload. More specifically, the user poll may include anumber of symbol-times equal to the number of sections that have atleast one ready user, and may include a number of subcarriers equal tothe number of user devices in each section. Therefore, each ready userhas a specific time and frequency allocated for its scheduling requestsignal. Then, the base station can receive the signals in the user poll,and determine from the time and frequency of each signal, which userdevice (associated with that time and frequency) is requesting totransmit, and may then provide a grant to those ready users. Usually,most of the sections have no ready users (the “empty” sections, in thiscontext) and are not included in the user poll, thereby avoiding wastingtime and resources, according to some embodiments. Examples belowclarify this procedure and provide further variations.

In some embodiments, the base station may be able to accept up to N userdevices in the network, and may select to allocate √N, the square rootof N, as the number of sections, and also the number of potential userdevices in each section. For example, if the base station can accept 64registered users, the base station may divide the user devices into 8sections of 8 user devices each. For a large network of 65536 maximumuser devices, the base station may allocate 256 sections of 256 userdevices each.

As a further space saving, the base station can subdivide those sectionsfurther. For example, the large network of 65536 maximum user devicesmay be divided into 64 sections, and subdivide each section into 32subsections, each subsection having 32 user devices. Then the basestation may determine, from section polls for example, which subsectionsinclude at least one ready user, and may include those subsections inthe user poll while ignoring the many blank subsections.

In some embodiments, the base station may have a much smaller number nof currently registered user devices, and may reassign those n currentuser devices to smaller sections or a smaller number of sections, and acorrespondingly smaller number of user devices in each of those smallersections. Smaller sizes generally occupy a smaller amount of space inthe resource grid. Then, if traffic increases and it becomes necessaryto use the larger number N, the base station can broadcast a messagesuch as an RRC message instructing the user devices to switch betweenthe two sets of sections.

In some embodiments, the base station may serve high-priority userdevices separately from low-priority user devices, such as firstproviding uplink grants to all of the ready users that arehigh-priority, and only then returning to the low-priority ready users.For example, the base station may allocate a high-priority user poll ina region of the resource grid, and each high-priority user device maysignal its uplink request in its exclusively allocated resource elementin the high-priority user poll region.

Terms herein generally follow 3GPP (third generation partnershipproject) standards, but with clarification where needed to resolveambiguities. 5G and 6G technologies are designed for “eMBB” (enhancedMobile Broadband communications), “URLLC” (ultra reliable low latencycommunications), and “mMTC” (massive machine-type communication) in the“IoT” (internet of things). “5G” represents fifth-generation, and “6G”sixth-generation, wireless technology in which a network (or cell or LANLocal Area Network or RAN Radio Access Network or the like) may includea base station (or gNB or generation-node-B or eNB or evolution-node-Bor AP Access Point) in signal communication with a plurality of userdevices (or UE or User Equipment or user nodes or terminals or wirelesstransmit-receive units) and operationally connected to a core network(CN) which handles non-radio tasks, such as administration, and isusually connected to a larger network such as the Internet. Thetime-frequency space is generally configured as a “resource grid”including a number of “resource elements”, each resource element being aspecific unit of time termed a “symbol-time”, and a specific frequencyand bandwidth termed a “subcarrier” (or “subchannel” in somereferences). Symbol-times may be termed “OFDM symbols” (OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing) in references. The time domain may bedivided into ten-millisecond frames, one-millisecond subframes, and somenumber of slots, each slot including 14 symbol-times. The number ofslots per subframe ranges from 1 to 8 depending on the “numerology”selected. The frequency axis is divided into “resource blocks” (alsotermed “resource element groups” or “REG” or “channels” in references)including 12 subcarriers. Each subcarrier is at a slightly differentfrequency. The “numerology” of a resource grid corresponds to thesubcarrier spacing in the frequency domain. Subcarrier spacings of 15,30, 60, 120, and 240 kHz are defined in various numerologies. Eachsubcarrier can be independently modulated to convey message information.Thus a resource element, spanning a single symbol-time in time and asingle subcarrier in frequency, is the smallest unit of a message.Standard modulation schemes in 5G and 6G include BPSK (binaryphase-shift keying), QPSK (quad phase-shift keying), 16QAM (quadratureamplitude modulation with 16 modulation states), 64QAM, 256QAM andhigher orders. Communication in 5G and 6G generally takes place onabstract message “channels” (not to be confused with frequency channels)representing different types of messages, embodied as a PDCCH and PUCCH(physical downlink and uplink control channels) for transmitting controlinformation, PDSCH and PUSCH (physical downlink and uplink sharedchannels) for transmitting data and other non-control information, PBCH(physical broadcast channel) for transmitting information to multipleuser devices, among other channels that may be in use. In addition, oneor more random access channels may include multiple random accesschannels in a single cell. “CRC” (cyclic redundancy code) is anerror-checking code. “RNTI” (radio network temporary identity) and“C-RNTI” (cell radio network temporary identification) arenetwork-assigned user codes (RNTI and C-RNTI and the other flavors ofRNTI are used interchangeably herein). “SNR” (signal-to-noise ratio) and“SINR” (signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio) are used interchangeablyunless specifically indicated. “RRC” (radio resource control) is acontrol-type message from a base station to a user device. “DRX”(discontinuous reception) refers to user devices temporarily entering a“sleep” or idle state to save energy. “H-ARQ” (hybrid automatic repeatrequest) is a complex procedure for determining when to retransmit afailed message. An “uplink grant” is a grant, transmitted by a basestation to a particular user device, permitting the particular userdevice to upload a BSR message or a data message.

In addition to the 3 GPP terms, the following terms are defined herein.Although in references a modulated resource element of a message may bereferred to as a “symbol”, this may be confused with the same term for atime interval, among other things. Therefore, each modulated resourceelement of a message is referred to as a “modulated message resourceelement”, or more simply as a “message element”, in examples below. A“demodulation reference” is a set of modulated resource elements thatexhibit levels of a modulation scheme (as opposed to conveying data). A“calibration set” is one or more amplitude values, which have beendetermined according to a demodulation reference, representing thepredetermined amplitude levels of a modulation scheme. A “short-formdemodulation reference” is a demodulation reference exhibiting themaximum and minimum modulation levels of a modulation scheme, from whicha receiver can calculate all of the modulation levels of the modulationscheme. As mentioned, user devices may be allocated to “sections” whichare portions of the set of user devices. An “SR-start” is a command or aprearranged time at which an SR session may begin. A “ready user”(having a data message ready to transmit) may transmit a short signalduring a “section poll” at a particular subcarrier associated with theready user's section. The base station can then transmit a “sectionmessage” indicating which ready sections include at least one readyuser. The number of ready sections then determines the shape of a “userpoll” which includes sufficient resource elements to accommodate all ofthe user devices in the ready sections, such as one symbol-time for eachready section and one subcarrier for each user device in each section. Aready user can then transmit a short uplink scheduling request signal atits assigned time and frequency, thereby prompting uplink grants foruploading the data message. “Cascading” and “cascaded” refer to dividinga set of entities, such as user devices, into sections, determiningwhich sections need service, then determining which user devices inthose sections need service, thereby saving time and resources.

Turning now to the figures, the following examples pertain to SRsessions in some embodiments.

FIG. 1A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to request an uplink grant in a cascaded manner, accordingto some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a basestation of a wireless network including a plurality of user devices, candivide those user devices into a plurality of portions or sections, eachsection including a plurality of user devices. The user devices may beinformed of their section number, and their position or address in thatsection, using a system information message, or during the initialaccess procedure (such as “Msg4”), or in subsequent user-specific or RRCcommunications, for example. An SR-start indicator 101 indicates thestart of an SR session. The SR-start indicator 101 may be a symbol-timeallocated according to a pre-arranged schedule, or a periodicity (suchas once per frame or subframe), or a specific command by the basestation, for example. Responsive to the SR-start indicator 101, eachuser device that has a data message ready to upload (and therefore seeksan uplink grant), can then indicate its readiness by transmitting ashort signal during a section poll 102. The section poll 102 is apredetermined symbol-time (such as the first symbol-time in the nextscheduled uplink interval following the SR-start indicator, forexample). The section poll 102 may include a number of subcarriers,equal to the number of sections, so that each ready user can transmitits signal during the subcarrier corresponding to its section number. Inthe depicted case, user devices transmit signals in the third, fifth,and sixth subcarriers of the section poll 102, thereby indicating thatat least one user device in those sections has a data message to upload.The signals in the section poll 102 are indicated by a “1”. The othersubcarriers, associated with blank sections that have no users currentlyseeking an uplink grant, are silent and are indicated by a dash “—”.

The base station may be configured to interpret any transmitted energy,at the appropriate subcarrier frequencies of the section poll 102, as anindication of readiness in the associated section, and may therebyaccommodate collisions among multiple ready users. For example, ifmultiple user devices in the same section are ready with data messages,they will transmit their signals simultaneously, causing a collision.The base station may therefore broadly accept energy transmitted on eachsubcarrier as an indication that at least one user device in thatsection seeks an uplink grant. Since most user devices cannot receive atthe same time as they transmit, the user devices may not know whichsections are ready. Therefore, the base station may broadcast a “sectionmessage” 103 summarizing the information in the section poll 102. Inthis case, the section message 103 is a repetition of the section poll102, but with the blank or no-signal subcarriers now replaced by a “0”transmission, while the subcarriers that have ready users are indicatedby a “1”. The 0-1 symbols stand for two modulations, such as the twomodulations of BPSK, for example. In another embodiment, the basestation may leave the no-signal subcarriers blank instead oftransmitting the “0” modulation state. In either case, or other format,the ready users can receive the section message 103 and therebydetermine how many sections include ready users, and which sections.

The base station may allocate a “user poll” for ready users to submittheir scheduling request signals. The user poll may include a number ofsubcarriers and a number of symbol-times in the next scheduled uplinkinterval following the section message 103, for example. The number ofsymbol-times in the user poll may equal the number of ready sections, asindicated in the section message 103, and the number of subcarriers inthe user poll may equal the number of user devices in each section,according to some embodiments. Each ready user can then transmit ascheduling request, which in this case is a short signal in thesymbol-time corresponding to its section number and at the subcarrierfrequency corresponding to its position in that section. In the depictedcase, the user poll includes three symbol-times 113, 115, 116corresponding to the three non-zero entries in the section message 103at positions three, five, and six as suggested by curvy arrows. Inaddition, each of the user poll symbol-times 113, 115, 116 has tensubcarriers corresponding to ten user devices per section. As with thesection poll, the signals of ready users are indicated by a 1, and theblank or no-signal subcarriers by a dash. The user poll iscontention-free because each user device is allocated a specificsymbol-time (according to its section number) and a specific subcarrier(according to its position in the section) for its scheduling requestsignal. In the depicted case, the first user poll symbol-time 113includes two ready users at positions two and seven, the secondsymbol-time 115 has a ready user at position two, and the third one hasa ready user at position four, as indicated by the l's in thosepositions.

The base station can then receive the signals in the user poll,determine which user devices request uplink grants, and then transmit a“BSR grant” 127 to each ready user. A BSR grant is a grant to transmit aBSR message. The user device then transmits its BSR message indicatingthe size of the data message. The base station can then provide a“message grant” permitting the ready user to upload its data message.

In summary, the SR-start indicator 101 prompts the ready users totransmit a short signal at their section subcarriers in a section poll102, which the base station replicates as the section message 103indicating which sections have ready users. Those user devices thentransmit a short scheduling request at their positions in the assignedsection of the user poll, which enables the base station to determinewhich user devices request grants. Importantly, the other sections,having no ready users, are not included in the user poll, thereby savingtime and resources.

FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to request an uplink grant in a cascaded manner, accordingto some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, at 150 abase station may arrange a schedule for SR sessions, or broadcast acommand initiating the SR session, for example. At 151, a ready user,which belongs to a particular section, transmits a signal in a sectionpoll, at a subcarrier corresponding to the particular section, therebyindicating that its section includes at least one user device that has adata message ready to upload. At 152, the base station reads the sectionpoll, determines which sections include a ready user according to thesubcarriers that have signal energy, and then broadcasts a sectionmessage that includes the same information. In this case, the sectionmessage is a repeat of the section poll, thereby indicating the samesections as the section poll.

At 153, each ready user receives the section message and therebydetermines how many sections, and which sections, will be represented inthe user poll. The ready user then transmits a short signal, serving asits scheduling request, in the user poll. Specifically, the ready usertransmits the signal at a symbol-time corresponding to the ready user'ssection, and at a subcarrier corresponding to its position in thesection, in this embodiment.

At 154, the base station receives the signals in the user poll and,based on the signals and their times and frequencies, determines whichuser devices have data messages to send. The base station then transmitsa BSR grant to each of them. At 155 the user devices transmit their BSRmessages, receive a message grant at 156, and then upload their datamessages.

The following examples pertain to SR sessions in which the sectionmessage is configured as a series of section numbers instead of l's and0's.

FIG. 2A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid populated with control and scheduling request messages, accordingto some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, aresource grid includes a first slot 201 and a second slot 202, with 12subcarriers 203 as marked, and 14 symbol-times per slot. Scheduleduplink and downlink intervals are indicated. The base station can assigneach user device to one of several sections and to a particular positionwithin that section. In the depicted case, there are ten sections, andeach section has ten user devices per section. Hence the section poll102 has ten subcarrier positions, and the user poll also occupies 10subcarriers.

During a downlink interval, the base station transmits a Start-SRmessage 204, thereby initiating an SR session. In other embodiments, theSR sessions may be initiated automatically, according to a schedule orperiodically or otherwise. The ready users that have data messages tosend can transmit a short signal during an allocated section poll 205,which is a symbol-time during a scheduled uplink interval. The sectionpoll includes sufficient subcarriers to have one subcarrier per section,in this case 10 subcarriers. Three signals 213, 215, 216 appear in thesection poll, indicating that sections three, five, and six include atleast one ready user. The other positions of the section poll are blank(no transmission).

The base station then broadcasts downlink control information 220 and aDMRS demodulation reference 221 in a scheduled downlink interval,followed by a section message 222. In this case, instead of replicatingthe section poll 205, the section message provides section numbersexplicitly. For example, the section message may be modulated in 16QAM.The section message 222 includes “NS” the number of ready sections(three in this case), followed by the section numbers of the readysections “S3”, “S5”, “S6”. In some cases, the section message 222formatted in this way may take up less resource area than replicatingthe section poll, especially for large networks and/or networks composedmainly of user devices that rarely transmit, such as alarms.

The user devices can then receive the DMRS 221 and update thedemodulation levels (such as amplitude and phase levels), which enablesdemodulation of subsequent messages. The user devices can then receiveand demodulate the section message 222, and thereby determine thatsections 3, 5, and 6 include ready users. The base station may allocatethree symbol-times to the user poll, specifically regions 223, 225, 226in which the user devices can transmit their scheduling request signals.The user poll regions 223, 225, 226 thereby correspond to the threesection numbers listed in the section message 222, as suggested by curvyarrows. Ready users in section 3 can then transmit short signals in thecorresponding section of the user poll 223, and likewise for ready usersin sections 5 and 6. In this example, section 3 has two user deviceswaiting to transmit data messages, and therefore two signals 231 and 232appear in the user poll symbol-time 223 corresponding to section 3.Sections 5 and 6 each have one ready user, and so region 225 has onesignal 233. Likewise, region 226 has one signal 234 showing. The otherpositions of the user poll regions 223, 225, 226 are blank. The basestation can then determine which user devices request uplink grantsbased on which section and which subcarrier they transmit in, and canprovide BSR grants and message grants to the four ready users thattransmitted the reply signals 231, 232, 233, 234.

FIG. 2B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to deliver scheduling request messages, according to someembodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, at 250 a basestation assigns each user device in a network to a section, and to aparticular position or address within that section, respectively. At251, the base station initiates an SR session in which user devices canindicate their readiness to upload a data message. The base station mayprovide a schedule of SR session times, or a periodicity betweensessions, or may broadcast a message declaring the session, for example.At 252, each ready user can transmit a short signal in a section poll atan allocated symbol-time, each user device transmitting on a subcarrierof the section poll corresponding to the user device's section number.

At 253, the base station can receive the section poll and determine,from the frequencies of the signals, which sections include at least oneuser device waiting to transmit a data message. At 254, the base stationbroadcasts a section message that replicates, or summarizes, theinformation from the section poll, such as indicating which sectionsinclude at least one ready user.

At 254, each ready user can determine, from the section message, howmany sections include ready users, and which sections they are.Accordingly, each ready user can locate its allocated symbol-time andsubcarrier in a subsequent user poll region. The ready user can thentransmit a short scheduling request signal at that time and frequency.For example, the symbol-time of the scheduling request signal maycorrespond to the section number of the ready user, and the subcarrierof the scheduling request signal may correspond to the position of theready user in that section. There is no contention or collision betweenuser devices in the user poll reply region because each user device hasa separate resource element. Accordingly, the identity of each readyuser is uniquely determined by the time and frequency of its requestsignal.

At 255, the base station can determine, from the time and frequency ofeach signal during the allocated user poll region, which user devicesrequest upload permission, and can provide BSR and data message grantsto those user devices accordingly.

The following examples pertain to SR sessions in which the ready userscan indicate, in their grant requests, the size of the planned uplinkmessage.

FIG. 3A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including scheduling requests and BSR messages, according to someembodiments. A network base station has assigned user devices to anumber of sections. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a resourcegrid includes a first and second slots 301, 302 with subcarriers 303.Various downlink control messages and DMRS are shown, followed by amodulated SR start indicator 304 initiating an SR session. Accordingly,in the first symbol-time of the next scheduled uplink interval, asection poll 305 is allocated for user devices to transmit short signalsindicating their readiness to upload data messages. Each subcarrier ofthe section poll 305 is associated with one of the sections,respectively, and the ready users can transmit their signals in thesubcarrier associated with their section. In this case, three signals313, 315, 316 indicate that sections 3, 5, 6 include at least onewaiting data message.

The base station receives the section poll 305 and, in the nextscheduled downlink interval, broadcasts a section message 322 indicatingthe number of ready sections and their section numbers as shown. Thebase station allocates a user poll region in the next scheduled uplinkinterval as indicated by curvy arrows, with subcarriers equal to thenumber of user devices in a section, and a number of symbol-times equalto the number of ready sections plus three, that is, six symbol-times.The extra symbol-times are to accommodate BSR messages.

The ready users can receive the section message 322 and can transmit aBSR message in the allocated user poll region, starting in thesymbol-time 323, 324, 325 associated with their section (firstsymbol-time for the first-named section in the section message, and soforth). The BSR is an 8-bit message indicating the size of the datamessage. The BSR occupies four resource elements when modulated in QPSK.Each ready user transmits its BSR message time-spanning, starting in thesymbol-time associated with its section, and extending through foursuccessive symbol-times. However, the ready users are not permitted totransmit a BSR message if its subcarrier is already occupied by anotherBSR message, to avoid collisions. In that case, the later user devicemust wait until the next SR session, or take other action to obtainuplink permission.

Section 3 includes two ready users in this case, residing in positions 2and 7 of the third section. Accordingly, the first ready user transmitsits BSR message 331 on the second subcarrier starting in the firstsymbol-time 323 of the user poll region, and continuing for the nextthree symbol-times, as shown by “BSR1”. The second ready user, which isalso in the same section at position 7, transmits its BSR2 message 332starting in the same symbol-time 323 in subcarrier 7 according to itsposition in the section.

A third ready user is in section 5 at position 2. Therefore, the thirdready user would like to transmit its BSR message starting in the secondsymbol-time 324 (corresponding to section 5), at the second subcarrier(corresponding to the second position in the section). However, thesecond subcarrier is already occupied by the first BSR message 331 whichis in progress from the first ready user. Therefore, the third readyuser cannot transmit, as indicated by a dashed shape 333. (The thirdready user may try again upon the next SR session, or it may initiate arandom access procedure to gain access more quickly, or the base stationmay allocate additional symbol-times for users to avoid being blockedout, or the base station may allocate subsequent resources by which ablocked-out ready user may transmit a message identifying theblocked-out ready user, specifying the data message size, and requestinga grant.)

A fourth ready user is in section 6 at position 4. Since section 6corresponds to the third symbol-time 325, the fourth ready usertransmits its BSR message 334 BSR4 as shown.

The base station can then receive the signals in the user poll region,demodulate the BSR messages (without a demodulation reference, sincethey are in QPK which does not include amplitude modulation), and canthereby determine from the BSR messages how much resources are needed toupload each of the ready data messages (other than the third userdevice, which was blocked in this example).

FIG. 3B is a schematic showing another exemplary embodiment of aresource grid including scheduling requests and BSR messages, accordingto some embodiments. In contrast to the previous example, in this caseextra symbol-times are allocated in the user poll region to accommodateuser devices that cannot switch from receive mode to transmit modequickly. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a resource gridincludes first and second slots 341, 342 with subcarriers 343. Variousdownlink control messages and DMRS (not labeled) are shown, followed bya modulated Start-SR indicator 344 initiating an SR session.Accordingly, in the first symbol-time of the next scheduled uplinkinterval, a section poll 345 is allocated for user devices to transmitshort signals indicating their readiness to upload data messages. Eachsubcarrier of the section poll 305 is associated with one of thesections, respectively, and the ready users can transmit their signalsin the subcarrier associated with their section. In this case, threesignals 353, 355, 356 indicate that sections 3, 5, 6 include at leastone waiting data message.

The base station receives the section poll 345 and, in the nextscheduled downlink interval, broadcasts a section message 362 indicatingthe number of ready sections and their section numbers as shown. Thebase station allocates a user poll region in the next scheduled uplinkinterval as indicated by curvy arrows, with subcarriers equal to thenumber of user devices in a section, and a number of symbol-times. Inthis case, the number of symbol-times in the user poll equals to thenumber of ready sections times two, plus two, that is, eightsymbol-times. The extra symbol-times are to accommodate BSR messages andto accommodate user devices that cannot switch from receive mode totransmit mode in a single symbol-time. Those user devices may thereforeneed an extra symbol-time between detection of potential interferenceand starting their transmission.

The ready users can receive the section message 362 and can transmit aBSR message in the allocated user poll region, starting in thesymbol-time 363, 364, 365 associated with their section (firstsymbol-time for the first-named section in the section message, and soforth). The BSR is an 8-bit message indicating the size of the datamessage and occupying four resource elements when modulated in QPSK.Each ready user transmits its BSR message time-spanning, starting in thesymbol-time associated with their section and extending through foursuccessive symbol-times. However, the ready users are not permitted totransmit a BSR message if the subcarrier is already occupied by anotherBSR message, to avoid collisions. To accommodate user devices thatcannot switch rapidly between receive and transmit modes, an extrasymbol-time is allocated between each successive section's startingregion. Although this increases the amount of resources required for theuser poll, it may avoid collision between BSR messages, especially whenreduced-capability user devices are involved.

Section 3 includes two ready users in this case, residing in positions 2and 7 of the third section. Accordingly, the first ready user transmitsits BSR message 371 on the second subcarrier starting in the firstsymbol-time 363 of the SR-reply region and continuing for the next threesymbol-times, as shown by “BSR1”. The second ready user, which is alsoin the same section at position 7, transmits its BSR2 message 372starting in the same symbol-time 363 (since it is in the same section),but in subcarrier seven according to its position in the section.

A third ready user is in section 5 at position 2. Therefore, the thirdready user would like to transmit its BSR message starting in the thirdsymbol-time 364 (corresponding to section 5, and including the extrasymbol-time between the symbol-times associated with the third and fifthsection 363, 364), at the second subcarrier (corresponding to the secondposition in the section). However, even with the extra symbol-time, thesecond subcarrier is still occupied by the first BSR message 371 whichis in progress from the first ready user. Therefore the third ready usercannot transmit, as indicated by a dashed shape 373. The third readyuser may try again upon the next SR session. Alternatively, in someembodiments, the third ready user may initiate a random access procedureto gain access more quickly. In yet another embodiment, the base stationmay allocate additional symbol-times for the BSR messages to avoid readyusers from being blocked out. In yet another embodiment, the basestation may allocate subsequent resources by which a blocked-out readyuser may transmit a message identifying the blocked-out ready user,specifying the data message size, and requesting a grant.

A fourth ready user is in section 6 at position 4. Since section 6corresponds to the third symbol-time 365, the fourth ready usertransmits its BSR message 374 BSR4 as shown.

The base station can then receive the signals in the user poll region,demodulate the BSR messages (without a demodulation reference, sincethey are in QPK which does not include amplitude modulation), andthereby determine from the BSR messages how much resources to grant toeach of the ready users.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to transmit scheduling requests including BSR messages,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,at 380 a base station divides the user devices of a network intosections and informs each user device of its section number and itsposition in that section. At 381, the base station initiates an SRsession using, for example, a message or command, a network-specifiedschedule, a predetermined periodicity, or otherwise. The base stationalso allocates resources for a section poll in which each user devicewith a data message ready to send can indicate which section it is in.

At 382, each ready user transmits a short signal at a symbol-time of thesection poll and at a subcarrier frequency corresponding to the readyuser's section number. User devices that do not have a message to uploadremain silent. At 383, the base station receives the section poll, anddetermines which sections include at least one user device with a datamessage to send. The base station may be configured to have a very wideacceptance as to the type and modulation of the signals, since in somecases the signals may be collided due to multiple ready users in asingle section.

At 384, the base station broadcasts a section message repeating theinformation of the section poll so that the ready users, which may notbe able to receive the section poll, can determine which sectionsinclude ready users. The section message may be a copy of the sectionpoll, or it may include a list of the ready sections. At 385, the basestation allocates an uplink user poll region including one resourceelement for each user device in each of the ready sections. For example,the base station can allocate a number of symbol-times equal to thenumber of ready sections in the section message plus three (toaccommodate the BSR messages), and a number of subcarriers equal to thecurrent number (or the maximum number) of user devices in each section.

At 386, each ready user transmits a BSR message indicating the size ofthe data message. The BSR message may start in a symbol-time associatedwith the section of the ready user, and may occupy a subcarriercorresponding to the ready user's position in that section. The BSRmessage may thereby be time-spanning. At 387, the base station receivesthe BSR messages, determines according to the time and frequency whichuser devices request grants, and then downloads message grants to thoseready users to transmit their data messages.

The following examples pertain to SR sessions in which the user pollregion is confined to a single symbol-time.

FIG. 4A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including a frequency-spanning user poll region, according to someembodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a base stationmay allocate a user poll region all in a single symbol-time, for fasterresponses. As in previous examples, the base station divides the userdevices among several sections and initiates an SR session. The figuredepicts a resource grid 401 with subcarriers 403 and an allocatedsection poll 405 in which the ready users have inserted signals atpositions corresponding to their section numbers. Then the base stationbroadcasts a section message 406 including, in this embodiment, ashort-form demodulation reference “DR”, the number of ready sections“NS”, and those section numbers “S3, S5, S6”. The base station thenallocates a user poll region 407 which, in this embodiment, isfrequency-spanning in a single symbol-time for all three sections 423,425, 426. Thus the subcarrier of each signal in the user poll region 407indicates both the section number and the position of the user device inits section. The base station can then determine which user devicetransmitted which signal in the user poll region 407, and may provide aBSR grant to each user device for subsequent uploading.

FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a method foruser devices to obtain an uplink grant, according to some embodiments.As depicted in this non-limiting example, at 450 a base station assignsuser devices to sections and informs each user device of its address orposition in that section. At 451, in an allocated section poll, eachready user transmits a short signal in the section poll at a subcarriercorresponding to the ready user's section. At 452, the base stationreceives the section poll and determines which sections have at leastone ready user. At 453, the base station broadcasts a section messagelisting the ready sections. A 454, the base station allocates afrequency-spanning region for the ready users to transmit theirscheduling requests, with enough resource elements to equal the userdevices in all of the ready sections. At 455, the ready users transmit ashort signal in the uplink user poll region at a subcarrier according tothe ready user's section and position in that section. At 456, the basestation determines which user devices request access and transmits a BSRgrant to each of them. At 457, the ready users upload their BSRmessages. At 458, the base station provides a message grant, and at 459the ready users transmit their data messages.

The following examples pertain to SR sessions in which the ready userscan submit BSR messages as the uplink grant requests.

FIG. 5A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including scheduling requests in a frequency-spanning configurationwith BSR messages, according to some embodiments. As depicted in thisnon-limiting example, a base station may allocate a user poll regionwith a number of subcarriers equal to the number of user devices in allof the ready sections, and a number of symbol-times equal to the lengthof a time-spanning BSR message (four symbol-times in QPSK). As inprevious examples, the base station divides the user devices amongseveral sections and initiates an SR session. The figure depicts aresource grid 501 with subcarriers 503 and an allocated section poll 502in which the ready users have inserted signals at positionscorresponding to their section numbers. Then the base station broadcastsa section message 504 including, in this embodiment, a short-formdemodulation reference “DR”, the number of ready sections “NS”, andthose section numbers “S3, S5, S6”. The base station then allocates auser poll region which, in this embodiment, is a rectangular region,with the ready sections frequency-spanning and the BSR messagestime-spanning across symbol-times 505, 506, 507, 508. Thus thesubcarrier of each BSR message in the user poll indicates both thesection number and the position of the user device in its section. Thebase station can then determine which user device transmitted which BSRmessage in the uplink reply region 507, and may provide a message grant509 to each user device for subsequent uploading of the data message.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to file scheduling requests with BSR messages, according tosome embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, at 550 abase station assigns user devices to sections and informs each userdevice of its address or position in that section. At 551, in anallocated section poll, each ready user transmits a short signal in thesection poll at a subcarrier corresponding to the ready user's section.At 552, the base station receives the section poll and determines whichsections have at least one ready user. At 553, the base stationbroadcasts a section message listing the ready sections. Base stationallocates a rectangular region of the resource grid for the ready usersto transmit their BSR messages indicating how large the data messagesare. The region has subcarriers equal to the user devices in all of theready sections, and symbol-times equal to the length of a BSR message.At 554, the ready users transmit their BSR messages in the uplink replyregion, at a subcarrier according to the ready user's section andposition in that section. At 555, the base station determines which userdevices request access and how much space they need. At 556, the basestation provides a message grant, and at 557 the ready users transmittheir data messages.

The following examples pertain to SR sessions in which high-priorityuser devices receive uplink service ahead of the lower-priority userdevices.

FIG. 6A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resourcegrid including high and low priority scheduling requests, according tosome embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a resourcegrid with a first and second slot 601, 602 and subcarriers 603 includesan SR-start command 604 prompting ready users to transmit a short signalindicating readiness to upload a data message. However, in this example,the base station allocates a high-priority user poll 605 forhigh-priority user devices, before the section poll 606 for low-priorityuser devices. The high-priority user poll 605 provides one resourceelement for each high-priority user device. The high-priority user poll605 is not cascaded and does not use sections, in this embodiment. Forexample, a high-priority user may be a user with high default QoSdemands.

Each high-priority user that has been assigned one of the resourceelements of the high-priority user poll 605 then transmits a shortsignal on its allocated subcarrier and symbol-time. In the depictedcase, one high-priority user device 627 transmits a signal on itsallocated resource element as shown.

The low-priority user devices can then insert short signals in thesection poll 606, at a subcarrier according to the low-priority userdevice's section number. In this case, three sections (the third, fifth,and sixth sections) include signals 623, 625, 626 thereby indicatingthat those sections include at least one ready user.

Instead of serving the low-priority user devices, in this case, the basestation first attends to the single high-priority user device 627, asindicated by a curvy dashed arrow. The base station transmits a BSRgrant 607 to the high-priority user device 627, and in the next uplinkscheduled interval (which is the uplink control symbol-time in thiscase), the high-priority user device 627 transmits its BSR message 608.The base station then provides a message grant 609 in the downlinkcontrol symbol-time, and the high-priority user device then transmitsits data message 610.

The base station can then return to the low-priority user devices. In ascheduled downlink interval, the base station transmits a sectionmessage 611 which includes a short-form demodulation reference DR (ifnot already provided elsewhere), the number of ready sections NS, andthose section numbers S3 etc. The user devices can then transmit shortscheduling requests on allocated symbol-times 613, 615, 616 according tothe section number, and on a subcarrier according to the ready user'sposition in its section. In this case, four ready users transmittedscheduling requests 631, 632, 633, 634.

Not shown, but probably desirable, are demodulation references in thetwo slots to enable reliable demodulation of the BSR grant 607 and themessage 610. Not shown, but probably necessary, are resources for anacknowledgement download to the high-priority user device indicatingreception or otherwise of its data message 610. In another embodiment,the section message 611 may omit the NS field. Instead of explicitlyspecifying how many ready sections, the base station may just list theirsection numbers, since the user devices can determine the number ofready sections by counting the section numbers that follow.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process foruser devices to provide scheduling requests of low and high priority,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,at 650 a base station assigns each user device to one of a plurality ofsections and a particular position in its section. At 651, base stationinitiates an SR session. High-priority user devices are served first.Each high-priority user device has an exclusive resource elementassigned, so that they can transmit a short scheduling request andobtain uplink service with low latency. At 652, the base station alsoallocates a section poll which the low-priority ready users can insertsignals according to their section number.

Before doing anything with the section poll, other than receiving it,the base station at 653 provides a BSR grant to each requestinghigh-priority user, receives its BSR message, provides a message grant,and receives the high-priority data message.

Then, at 654, the base station broadcasts a section message listing theready sections. The section message, if modulated, may include ademodulation reference or be proximate to one. At 655, each low-priorityready user then transmits a short scheduling request signal in anallocated low-priority user poll region. The ready user indicates itssection number according to the symbol-time of its signal, and indicatesits position in that section according to the subcarrier of its signal.The base station then identifies the ready users accordingly, providesBSR grants, receives their BSR messages, provides message grants, andreceives the low-priority data messages.

In another embodiment, the base station may delay the section poll ifany high-priority user device transmits during the high-priority userpoll region. In that case, the base station may serve thosehigh-priority users first, and then allocate resources for the sectionpoll. In yet another embodiment, the base station may initiate separatehigh-priority sessions and low-priority sessions at different times,thereby avoiding delays and interference between the two classes ofusers.

The wireless embodiments of this disclosure may be aptly suited forcloud backup protection, according to some embodiments. Furthermore, thecloud backup can be provided cyber-security, such as blockchain, to lockor protect data, thereby preventing malevolent actors from makingchanges. The cyber-security may thereby avoid changes that, in someapplications, could result in hazards including lethal hazards, such asin applications related to traffic safety, electric grid management, lawenforcement, or national security.

In some embodiments, non-transitory computer-readable media may includeinstructions that, when executed by a computing environment, cause amethod to be performed, the method according to the principles disclosedherein. In some embodiments, the instructions (such as software orfirmware) may be upgradable or updatable, to provide additionalcapabilities and/or to fix errors and/or to remove securityvulnerabilities, among many other reasons for updating software. In someembodiments, the updates may be provided monthly, quarterly, annually,every 2 or 3 or 4 years, or upon other interval, or at the convenienceof the owner, for example. In some embodiments, the updates (especiallyupdates providing added capabilities) may be provided on a fee basis.The intent of the updates may be to cause the updated software toperform better than previously, and to thereby provide additional usersatisfaction.

The systems and methods may be fully implemented in any number ofcomputing devices. Typically, instructions are laid out on computerreadable media, generally non-transitory, and these instructions aresufficient to allow a processor in the computing device to implement themethod of the invention. The computer readable medium may be a harddrive or solid state storage having instructions that, when run, orsooner, are loaded into random access memory. Inputs to the application,e.g., from the plurality of users or from any one user, may be by anynumber of appropriate computer input devices. For example, users mayemploy vehicular controls, as well as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen,joystick, trackpad, other pointing device, or any other such computerinput device to input data relevant to the calculations. Data may alsobe input by way of one or more sensors on the robot, an inserted memorychip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media, magneticmedia, or any other type of file-storing medium. The outputs may bedelivered to a user by way of signals transmitted to robot steering andthrottle controls, a video graphics card or integrated graphics chipsetcoupled to a display that may be seen by a user. Given this teaching,any number of other tangible outputs will also be understood to becontemplated by the invention. For example, outputs may be stored on amemory chip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media,magnetic media, or any other type of output. It should also be notedthat the invention may be implemented on any number of different typesof computing devices, e.g., embedded systems and processors, personalcomputers, laptop computers, notebook computers, net book computers,handheld computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, and also on devices specifically designed forthese purpose. In one implementation, a user of a smart phone orWi-Fi-connected device downloads a copy of the application to theirdevice from a server using a wireless Internet connection. Anappropriate authentication procedure and secure transaction process mayprovide for payment to be made to the seller. The application maydownload over the mobile connection, or over the Wi-Fi or other wirelessnetwork connection. The application may then be run by the user. Such anetworked system may provide a suitable computing environment for animplementation in which a plurality of users provide separate inputs tothe system and method.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is not adefinition of the invention but is a description of one or morepreferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. The invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments(s) disclosed herein, but rather isdefined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statementscontained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodimentsand are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the inventionor on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term orphrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and variouschanges and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the specificcombination and order of steps is just one possibility, as the presentmethod may include a combination of steps that has fewer, greater, ordifferent steps than that shown here. All such other embodiments,changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of theappended claims.

As used in this specification and claims, the terms “for example”,“e.g.”, “for instance”, “such as”, and “like” and the terms“comprising”, “having”, “including”, and their other verb forms, whenused in conjunction with a listing of one or more components or otheritems, are each to be construed as open-ended, meaning that the listingis not to be considered as excluding other additional components oritems. Other terms are to be construed using their broadest reasonablemeaning unless they are used in a context that requires a differentinterpretation.

1. A method for a base station to communicate in a wireless networkcomprising a plurality of user devices in signal communication with thebase station, the method comprising: allocating the plurality of userdevices among integer Ns sections; receiving one or more signals in afirst region of a resource grid; determining, from each signal, whichone of the sections includes a user device seeking an uplink grant; andreceiving further signals in a second region of a resource grid, anddetermining, from the further signals, which user devices seek uplinkgrants.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signals are receivedaccording to 5G or 6G technology.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: indicating, to each user device, which particular section isassociated with the user device; and indicating, to each user device, aposition or address within the particular section, associated with theuser device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first regioncomprises Ns subcarriers at a particular symbol-time, each subcarrierassociated with one of the sections, respectively.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising broadcasting a section message indicatingwhich sections include at least one user device seeking an uplink grant.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the section message comprises Nssubcarriers and a single symbol-time.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinthe section message comprises one or more section numbers of readysections, a ready section comprising a section associated with at leastone user device seeking an uplink grant.
 8. The method of claim 5,wherein the section message further indicates how many sections includeat least one user device seeking an uplink grant.
 9. The method of claim5, further comprising: allocating a high-priority user region of theresource grid; receiving a high-priority signal in the high-priorityregion; and before transmitting the section message, determining whichparticular user device transmitted the high-priority signal, andtransmitting an uplink grant to the particular user device.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second region comprises integer Nrsymbol-times and integer Nz subcarriers, Nr being a number of sectionsthat include at least one user device seeking an uplink grant, and Nzbeing a number of user devices in each section.
 11. The method of claim1, further comprising transmitting, to each user device that transmittedone of the further signals, an uplink grant.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, in the second region, a BSR (bufferstatus register) message; and transmitting an uplink grant configured topermit transmission of a data message according to the BSR message. 13.A particular user device, of a wireless network comprising a pluralityof user devices, the particular user device configured to: receive aparticular section number; transmit a first signal in a section poll,the section poll comprising a first plurality of resource elements;receive a section message indicating one or more section numberscomprising at least the particular section number; transmit, responsiveto receiving the section message, a second signal in a user poll, theuser poll comprising a second plurality of resource elements; andreceive an uplink grant.
 14. The particular user device of claim 13,wherein the first signal is transmitted in a particular resource elementof the section poll according to the particular section number.
 15. Theparticular user device of claim 13, wherein the section messageindicates the particular section number.
 16. The particular user deviceof claim 13, wherein the second signal is transmitted in a resourceelement of the user poll according to the particular section number andaccording to a particular position number assigned by the network. 17.Non-transitory computer-readable media in a memory of a base station ofa wireless network comprising user devices, the media containinginstructions that, when executed by a computing environment, cause amethod to be performed, the method comprising: assigning, to each userdevice, a section number and a position number, respectively; allocatinga section poll, comprising a symbol-time and a plurality of subcarriers,for one or more user devices to transmit a first signal, the firstsignal indicating which sections include at least one user device readyto transmit a data message; allocating a user poll, comprising one ormore symbol-times and one or more subcarriers, for user devices totransmit a second signal, the second signal indicating which userdevices are ready to transmit a data message, respectively; receivingthe second signals and determining therefrom which particular userdevices are ready to transmit data messages; and transmitting an uplinkgrant to each of the particular user devices.
 18. The media of claim 17,the method further comprising: determining, from the section poll, whichsections include at least one user device ready to transmit a datamessage; and broadcasting a section message indicating which sectionsinclude at least one user device ready to transmit a data message. 19.The media of claim 17, wherein the section poll includes a number ofsubcarriers equal to a number of sections in the network.
 20. The mediaof claim 17, wherein the user poll comprises a number of symbol-timesequal to a number of sections that have at least one user device readyto to transmit a data message, and the user poll further includes anumber of subcarriers equal to a maximum number of user devices in thesections.